Systems and methods for determining real-time PCR cycle thresholds using cluster analysis

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for determining the elbow or Ct value in a real-time, or kinetic, PCR amplification curve data set. The PCR data set may be visualized in a two-dimensional plot of fluorescence intensity (y-axis) vs. cycle number (x-axis). The data set is transformed to produce a partition table of data points with one column including the fluorescence at cycle (n) and a second column including the fluorescence at cycle (n+i), where i is typically 1 or greater. A cluster analysis process is applied to the partition table data set to determine a plurality of clusters in the partition table data set. In one aspect, the clustering process used includes a k-means clustering algorithm, where k≧3. The data point representing the elbow or Ct value of the PCR curve is identified as an end point of one of the identified clusters, and the cycle number corresponding to this data point is returned or displayed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for processing data representing sigmoid type curves or growth curves, and more particularly to systems and methods for determining characteristic cycle threshold (Ct) or elbow values in real-time PCR amplification curves.

The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is an in vitro method for enzymatically synthesizing or amplifying defined nucleic acid sequences. The reaction typically uses two oligonucleotide primers that hybridize to opposite strands and flank a template or target DNA sequence that is to be amplified. Elongation of the primers is catalyzed by a heat-stable DNA polymerase. A repetitive series of cycles involving template denaturation, primer annealing, and extension of the annealed primers by the polymerase results in an exponential accumulation of a specific DNA fragment. Fluorescent probes or markers are typically used in real-time PCR, or kinetic PCR, to facilitate detection and quantification of the amplification process.

A typical kinetic PCR curve as shown in FIG. 1, where fluorescence intensity values are plotted vs. cycle number for a typical PCR process. In this case, the formation of PCR products is monitored in each cycle of the PCR process. The amplification is usually measured in thermocyclers which include components and devices for measuring fluorescence signals during the amplification reaction. An example of such a thermocycler is the Roche Diagnostics LightCycler (Cat. No. 20110468). The amplification products are, for example, detected by means of quenched fluorescently labeled hybridization probes which only emit fluorescence signals after they are bound to a target nucleic acid sequence and subsequently degraded by the 5′ to 3′ nuclease activity of a DNA polymerase. Other examples include fluorescent signals generated during nucleic acid amplification where fluorescent dyes bind to double-stranded DNA and experience an increase in their fluorescence quantum yield.

For a typical kinetic PCR growth curve, identifying a transition point referred to commonly as the elbow value or cycle threshold (Ct) value is extremely useful for understanding characteristics of the PCR amplification process. The Ct value may be used as a measure of efficiency of the PCR process. For example, a defined signal threshold is determined for all reactions to be analyzed. Then the number of cycles (Ct) required to reach this signal threshold is determined for the target nucleic acid as well as for reference nucleic acids such as a standard or housekeeping gene. The absolute or relative copy numbers of the target molecule can be determined on the basis of the Ct values obtained for the target nucleic acid and the reference nucleic acid (Gibson et al., Genome Research 6:995-1001; Bieche et al., Cancer Research 59:2759-2765, 1999; WO 97/46707; WO 97/46712; WO 97/46714). An elbow value of roughly 35 is shown in FIG. 1 by label 20.

A more precise elbow value in a kinetic PCR curve can be determined using several existing methods. For example, various methods determine the actual value of the elbow (Ct) as the value where the fluorescence reaches a predetermined signal level called the AFL (arbitrary fluorescence value). Other methods use the cycle number where the second derivative of fluorescence vs. cycle number reaches a maximum. All of these methods have drawbacks. For example, derivative methods are sensitive to outlier (noisy) data, and the AFL approach is sensitive to changes in the average baseline fluorescent level in the pre-elbow PCR cycles. Normalization of the data may also provide additional problems. Furthermore, these algorithms typically have many parameters that are often difficult to optimize. This results in a trade-off between sensitivity and false positives that reduces the effectiveness of these algorithm approaches.

Therefore, it is desirable to provide new systems and methods for determining the elbow value in curves, such as sigrnoid-type curves, and kinetic PCR curves in particular, that overcome these drawbacks and others.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides novel, efficient methods for determining characteristic transition values such as elbow values on sigmoid or growth-type curves. In one implementation, the methods of the present invention are particularly useful for determining the cycle threshold (Ct) value in kinetic PCR amplification curves.

According to the present invention, a method for determining the elbow or Ct value in a kinetic PCR amplification curve data set is provided. The PCR data set may be visualized in a two-dimensional plot of fluorescence intensity (y-axis) vs. cycle number (x-axis). The data set is transformed to produce a partition table of data points with one column including the fluorescence at cycle (n) and a second column including the fluorescence at cycle (n+i), where i is typically 1 or greater. A cluster analysis process is applied to the partition table data set to determine a plurality of clusters in the partition table data set. Cluster analysis is an analysis tool with a goal of sorting different objects, e.g., data points or vectors, into groups such that the degree of association between any two objects is maximal if the belong to the same group and minimal otherwise. In one aspect, the clustering process used includes a k-means clustering algorithm, where k≧3. The data point representing the elbow or Ct value of the PCR curve is identified as an end point of one of the identified clusters, and the cycle number corresponding to this data point is returned or displayed.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a computer-implemented method is provided for determining a specific point of interest in a region of a curve. The method typically includes receiving a data set representing a curve, the data set including a plurality of first data points each having a pair of coordinate values (x,y), wherein if viewed in a two-dimensional coordinate system the data set includes a region of interest. The method also typically includes applying a transformation to at least a portion of the data set including the region of interest to produce a transformed data set, wherein the transformed data set includes a plurality of second data points, each second data point having a pair of coordinate values (y′,y*), where the y′ coordinate value of a second data point is the y coordinate value of a corresponding first data point, and the y* coordinate value of the second data point is the y coordinate value of a subsequent first data point. The method further typically includes identifying a plurality of clusters of second data points in the transformed data set, wherein an end point of one of the plurality of clusters represents a specific point of interest in the data curve. In one aspect, the end point is the last point of a cluster. In one aspect, the curve is an amplification curve for a kinetic Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) process, and the specific point of interest represents the elbow or cycle threshold (Ct) value for the kinetic PCR curve. The coordinate(s) of the identified data point may be returned or displayed. In one aspect, identifying a plurality of clusters includes applying a clustering algorithm, such as a k-means clustering algorithm with k≧3, to the transformed data set.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a computer readable medium is provided that includes code for controlling a processor to determine a cycle threshold (Ct) value in a kinetic PCR amplification curve. The code typically includes instructions to receive a data set representing a kinetic PCR amplification curve, the data set including a plurality of first data points each having a pair of coordinate values (x,y), wherein the data set includes data points in a region of interest which includes the Ct value. The code also typically includes instructions to apply a transformation to at least the portion of the data set including the region of interest to produce a transformed data set, wherein the transformed data set includes a plurality of second data points, each second data point having a pair of coordinate values (y′,y*), where the y′ coordinate value of a second data point is the y coordinate value of a corresponding first data point, and the y* coordinate value of the second data point is the y coordinate value of a subsequent first data point. The code also typically includes instructions to identify a plurality of clusters of second data points in the transformed data set, wherein an end point of one of the plurality of clusters represents the Ct value in the PCR amplification curve. In one aspect, the end point is the last point of a cluster. In one aspect, the instructions to identify a plurality of clusters include instructions to apply a clustering algorithm, such as a k-means clustering algorithm with k≧3, to the transformed data set.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a kinetic PCR system is provided. The system typically includes a PCR analysis module that generates a PCR data set representing a kinetic PCR amplification curve, the data set including a plurality of first data points each having a pair of coordinate values (x,y), wherein the data set includes data points in a region of interest which includes a cycle threshold (Ct) value. The system also typically includes an intelligence module adapted to process the PCR data set to determine the Ct value by applying a transformation to at least the portion of the PCR data set including the region of interest to produce a transformed data set, wherein the transformed data set includes a plurality of second data points, each second data point having a pair of coordinate values (y′,y*), where the y′ coordinate value of a second data point is the y coordinate value of a corresponding first data point, and the y* coordinate value of the second data point is the y coordinate value of a subsequent first data point. The intelligence module is also typically adapted to identify a plurality of clusters of second data points in the transformed data set, wherein an end point of one of the plurality of clusters represents the Ct value in the PCR amplification curve The intelligence module may include a processor in a computer system connected to or separate from the kinetic PCR analysis module, or it may include a processor directly coupled to the kinetic PCR analysis module, e.g., both components may comprise a kinetic PCR thermocycler. In one aspect, the end point is the last point of a cluster. In one aspect, identifying a plurality of clusters includes applying a clustering algorithm, such as a k-means clustering algorithm with k≧3, to the transformed data set.

Reference to the remaining portions of the specification, including the drawings and claims, will realize other features and advantages of the present invention. Further features and advantages of the present invention, as well as the structure and operation of various embodiments of the present invention, are described in detail below with respect to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a typical PCR growth curve, plotted as fluorescence intensity vs. cycle number.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the typical PCR growth curve of FIG. 1, plotted as fluorescence intensity at cycle (n+1) vs. fluorescence intensity at cycle (n).

FIG. 3 illustrates a process for determining the elbow value for a PCR process according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4 a shows a representation of a data set for an amplification curve and FIG. 4 b shows a representation of a corresponding partition table data according to the cluster analysis methods of the present invention. The data and the partition table are shown in Appendix A.

FIG. 5 a shows a representation of the data set of FIG. 4 a with interpolated data points, and FIG. 5 b shows a representation of a corresponding partition table data according to the cluster analysis methods of the present invention. The interpolated data and partition table are shown in Appendix B.

FIG. 6 shows the data of FIG. 1 with linear interpolation at 0.1 increments, thus the cycle numbers are multiplied by 10.

FIGS. 7 shows the fluorescence values of the interpolated data of FIG. 6 plotted, with the x-value representing the fluorescence at cycle (n) and the y-value representing the fluorescence at cycle (n+1). The five clusters are indicated by the different colors.

FIG. 8 shows an example of a plotted data set analyzed according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows another example of a plotted data set analyzed according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 shows an example of plots of the resultant fluorescence signal from 10 identical samples processed through a thermal cycler and analyzed according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

One example of an amplification curve 10 in the context of a kinetic PCR process is shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the curve 10 includes a lag phase region 15, and an exponential phase region 25. Such a curve includes a transitionary region of interest 20 linking the lag phase and the exponential phase. Region 20 is commonly referred to as the elbow or elbow region. The elbow region 20 typically defines a transition in the growth or amplification rate of the underlying process, and identifying a specific transition point in region 20 can be useful for analyzing the behavior of the underlying process. In a typical PCR curve, identifying a transition point referred to as the elbow value or cycle threshold (Ct) value is extremely useful for understanding efficiency characteristics of the PCR process. Other processes that may provide similar sigmoid type curves or growth curves include bacterial processes, enzymatic processes and binding processes. In bacterial growth curves, for example, the transition point of interest has been referred to as the time in lag phase, λ Thus, although the remainder of this document will discuss the invention in terms of its applicability to PCR curves, it should be appreciated that the present invention may be applied to data curves related to other processes.

Other specific processes that produce data curves that may be analyzed according to the present invention include strand displacement amplification (SDA) processes, nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA) processes and transcription mediated amplification (TMA) processes. Examples of SDA and NASBA processes and data curves can be found in Wang, Sha-Sha, et al., “Homogeneous Real-Time Detection of Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms by Strand Displacement Amplification on the BD ProbeTec ET System”, Clin Chem 2003 49(10):1599, and Weusten, Jos J. A.M., et al., “Principles of Quantitation of Viral Loads Using Nucleic Acid Sequence-Based Amplification in Combination With Homogeneous Detection Using Molecular Beacons”, Nucleic Acids Research, 2002 30(6):26, respectively, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

As shown in FIG. 1, data for a typical PCR growth curve can be represented in a two-dimensional coordinate system, for example, with PCR cycle number defining the x-axis and an indicator of accumulated polynucleotide growth defining the y-axis. Typically, as shown in FIG. 1, the indicator of accumulated growth is a fluorescence intensity value as the use of fluorescent markers is perhaps the most widely used labeling scheme. However, it should be understood that other indicators may be used depending on the particular labeling and/or detection scheme used. Examples of other useful indicators of accumulated signal growth include luminescence intensity, chemiluminescence intensity, bioluminescence intensity, phosphorescence intensity, charge transfer, voltage, current, power, energy, temperature, viscosity, light scatter, radioactive intensity, reflectivity, transmittance and absorbance. The definition of cycle can also include time, process cycles, unit operation cycles and reproductive cycles.

According to the present invention, one embodiment of a process for determining a transitionary value in a sigmoid type curve, such as the elbow value or Ct value of a kinetic PCR amplification curve, can be described briefly as follows. Typically, PCR data is plotted as shown in FIG. 1, where the fluorescence is plotted vs. cycle number. Although this display gives important information, it does not give information as to how close sequential points are from one another. If instead, the fluorescence at cycle (n+1) is plotted vs. the fluorescence at cycle (n), one obtains the graph shown in FIG. 2. When data are plotted in this manner, it is apparent that the are clusters of data. Three clusters are indicated by the different labeled regions: region 35 at the low fluorescence values represents the baseline region; region 45 at the high fluorescence values represents the plateau region; and region 40 represents the exponential region. As will be apparent, the data may also be represented by additional clusters to give more precise cutoffs of various regions represented by the data. These clusters can advantageously be used to identify the Ct value of the PCR amplification curve.

One embodiment of a process 100 for determining the elbow value in a kinetic PCR curve using cluster analysis is shown in FIG. 3. In step 110, the data set is acquired. In the case where process 100 is implemented in an intelligence module (e.g., processor executing instructions) resident in a PCR data acquiring device such as a thermocycler, the data set may be provided to the intelligence module in real time as the data is being collected, or it may be stored in a memory unit or buffer and provided to the intelligence module after the experiment has been completed. Similarly, the data set may be provided to a separate system such as a desktop computer system via a network connection (e.g., LAN, VPN, intranet, Internet, etc.) or direct connection (e.g., USB or other direct wired or wireless connection) to the acquiring device, or provided on a portable medium such as a CD, DVD, floppy disk or the like. In certain aspects, the data set includes data points having a pair of coordinate values (or a 2-dimensional vector) representing the cycle number and the fluorescence intensity value.

After the data set has been received or acquired in step 110, the data set may be analyzed using cluster analysis. Depending on the number of data points acquired in the data set, it may be desirable to increase the number of data points to improve the resolution of the Ct value determined by process 100. Therefore, in one embodiment, additional data points are determined by interpolating between existing data points in step 120. In step 120, a function such as linear interpolation function, a cubic spline function or a least squares fit function is fit to the data points. This may be done using the software application Mathematica® or other application. For example, in one aspect, data points are interpolated between existing data points at cycle number intervals of 1.0 or less, e.g., 0.05 or 0.01, e.g. using a linear interpolation function, or using the cubic spline function or the least squares fit function. In step 120, the interpolated data points are also stored along with the actual data points to form a larger table or matrix of data points (x,y) representing cycle number and fluorescence intensity. FIG. 4 shows an example of a data set for an amplification curve with data interpolated at 0.1 increments. This data set (or the initially acquired data set where no interpolation is performed), or a portion thereof, is then processed in step 130 to produce a set of data points having coordinates (y′,y*), where the y′ coordinate value is the y coordinate value of a corresponding data point in the table, and where the y* coordinate value is the y coordinate value of a subsequent data point from the table. In Mathematica, for example, this may be performed using the Partition function to create a partition table. In one aspect, the subsequent point is the immediately subsequent data point in the contiguous series of data points, such that a partition table with vector values representing the fluorescence at cycle (n+1) and the fluorescence at cycle (n) is created. FIGS. 4 and 5 show examples of an un-interpolated data set and an interpolated data set, respectively, and a corresponding partition table for these data sets transformed in this manner such that each vector represents [y(n+1), y(n)], where y is cycle number. The data for FIGS. 4 and 5 is shown in Appendix A and Appendix B, respectively. In another aspect, a subsequent data point includes a data point that is not immediately subsequent to the corresponding data point, such that a partition table with vector values [y(n+i), y(n)] is created, with i≧2. In general, a partition table with vector values [y(n+i), y(n)], where i≧1, is created in step 130.

Returning to FIG. 3, in step 140, a cluster analysis algorithm is applied to the partition table to identify a plurality of clusters in the partition table data set. In certain aspects, a clustering algorithm is applied to the partition table to identify 3 or more clusters of data. For example, in one aspect, a k-means clustering algorithm is applied to the partition table, where k is greater than or equal to 3. In step 150, the Ct value of the amplification curve is identified. In one aspect, the Ct value is identified as the beginning point or end point in a cluster identified in step 140. For PCR amplification data, in one aspect, it is advantageous to determine 5 clusters of data in the partition table data set. In this case, the Ct value is identified by the last data point in the first cluster (e.g., the cluster with the smallest fluorescence values). If interpolated data is used from step 120, the Ct value is identified by dividing the last value in the first cluster by (1/increment value)+0.9. For example, where interpolation increments of 0.1 cycles were used, the Ct value would be the last value in the first cluster divided by 1/0.1 +0.9 or 10.9. In step 160, the Ct value is displayed, e.g., on a monitor, or printout, LCD screen, etc., or otherwise provided to an operator of the system. It should be appreciated that the Ct value may be obtained by using a point in the cluster other than an end point, for example, the point next to the end point (e.g., endpoint −1), two points away from the end point (e.g., endpoint −2), etc., may be used. When interpolation (step 120) is used to provide additional data points, one could use the endpoint −1, −2, etc. and obtain a “sufficiently accurate” Ct value, provided the interpolation increment is small enough. For instance, if one interpolated in 0.01 increments, and used the endpoint −1, then the Ct would “be off” by 0.01, which is fairly insignificant.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate an example of process 100 applied to the data set of FIG. 1. FIG. 6 shows the data of FIG. 1 with linear interpolation at 0.1 increments, thus the cycle numbers are multiplied by 10. FIG. 7 shows the fluorescence values of the interpolated data of FIG. 6 plotted, with the x-value representing the fluorescence at cycle (n) and the y-value representing the fluorescence at cycle (n+1). The five clusters are indicated by the different colors. The Ct value for this data, using process 100, was determined to be Ct=35.9.

It should be appreciated that the Ct determination process 100, or portions thereof, may be implemented in computer code running on a processor of a computer system. The code includes instructions for controlling a processor to implement various aspects and steps of the determination process 100. The code is typically stored on a hard disk, RAM or portable medium such as a CD, DVD, etc. Similarly, the process 100, or portions thereof, may be implemented in a PCR device such as a thermocycler including a processor executing instructions stored in a memory unit coupled to the processor. Code including such instructions may be downloaded to the PCR device memory unit over a network connection or direct connection to a code source or using a portable medium as is well known.

An example of Mathematica code configured to perform the operations of process 100 on a vector yd of fluorescence values is shown below:

ClustMod[yd_] :=Module[{ }, IntF = Interpolation[yd, InterpolationOrder → 1]; IntTable = Table[IntF[x], {x, 1, Length[yd], 0.1}]; ParYd = Partition[IntTable, 2, 1]; fc = FindClusters[ParYd −> Range[Length[ParYd]], 5]; N[Last[fc[[1]]]/10] + 0.9]

In addition to a k-means clustering algorithm, one skilled in the art will understand that other clustering algorithms may be used. Generally, cluster analysis includes a variety of algorithm types, each with a goal of sorting different objects, e.g., data points or vectors, into groups such that the degree of association between any two objects is maximal if the belong to the same group and minimal otherwise. A clustering algorithm places objects into clusters according to defined similarity rules, such as a distance measure (e.g., Euclidian distance). K-means clustering, where the number of cluster groups obtained is decided a-priori, is but one variety of known clustering algorithms. Other types of clustering algorithms include joining or tree clustering algorithms and expectation maximization clustering algorithms. Additional information on these and other clustering algorithms as would be understood by one skilled in the art can be found in “Cluster Analysis, 4th Edition”, by Brain S. Everitt, Sabine Landau, and Morven Leese, Arnold publishers, London, 2001, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

According to one embodiment, a process for determining whether the data set (e.g., PCR data set) acquired in step 110 is noisy or shows a trend is provided. Initially, in step 1, the original data set (e.g., with no interpolated data) is partitioned into a partition table with the first column including the fluorescence at cycle (n), and the second column including the fluorescence at cycle (n+1), similar to step 130 of FIG. 3. Next, in step 2, using a cluster analysis algorithm, such as a k-mean cluster algorithm, three or more clusters are determined for this partitioned data set. The result of this analysis are the indices of the original data. Thereafter, in step 3, the determined cluster results are sorted in order of increasing indices, and it is determined whether the results of steps 2 and 3 are identical. If identical, this shows that there is a definite trend in the data; if the results are unequal, the data is substantially pure noise, and a value, e.g.,“−1”, is returned as the Ct value to indicate that the data is substantially noise data. If the data show a trend, then analysis of the data is continued as described above to determine the Ct value. Otherwise the analysis is stopped and a Ct of “−1” is given.

An example of code for determining trend data vs. noise data is shown in the following Mathematica code:

ClustModSM[yd_] :=Module[{ }, ParYd = Partition[yd, 2, 1]; fc = FindClusters[ParYd −> Range[Length[ParYd]], 3]; Last[fc[[1]]]] ClustModT[yd_] :=Module[{ }, ClustModSM[yd]; fcSM = Flatten[fc]; fcSMSort = Sort[fcSM]; If[fcSM == fcSMSort, ClustMod[yd], −1]]

One skilled in the art should appreciate that the elbow determination processes of the present invention can be coded using a variety of programming languages such as C, C++, C#, Fortran, VisualBasic, etc., as well as applications similar to Mathematica which may provide pre-packaged routines, functions and procedures useful for data visualization and analysis. Another example of the latter is MATLAB®.

The cluster analysis methods of the present invention have been tested on a wide variety of data sets, both normal data, and “problem” data, and was found to be very robust. In addition, slow growers are easily identified. In summary, the advantages of cluster analysis of the present invention include:

-   (1) No parameters are required for this approach, it just works. -   (2) The is no sensitivity to drift in the data sets. Sloping     baselines have no influence. -   (3) Noise, baseline dips, and spikes will not influence the results. -   (4) The system can easily identify slow growers vs. noisy data. -   (5) High baselines have no influence on the results. -   (6) Normalization of the data is not required.

The present invention advantageously eliminates the need to take derivatives. This is an advantage as the first and especially the second derivatives that are often used in determining the elbow value are extremely sensitive to noisy data.

Thus, the present invention advantageously eliminates problems found in previous algorithms, for example: (1) noisy, spike data, (2) variable baselines, (3) high baselines, (4) sensitivity of derivative methods, and (5) need for a large number of parameters. The processes of the present invention are particularly useful in PCR systems, such as thermocyclers, to significantly improve the quality of the PCR results data. Examples of data processed according to the present invention are discussed below.

EXAMPLE 1

FIG. 8 shows an example of a plotted data set analyzed according to the present invention. This particular data set was difficult to analyze with existing algorithms. When processed through the Cluster Ct Analysis approach of the present invention, the Ct value was determined to be 13.1.

EXAMPLE 2

FIG. 9 shows another example of a plotted data set analyzed according to the present invention. This data set, when processed using the Cluster Ct Analysis approach of the present invention, gave the Ct value as 35.9. A traditional approach, which involved normalization, had difficulty with this data set.

EXAMPLE 3

FIG. 10 shows an example of plots of the resultant fluorescence signal from 10 identical samples processed through a thermal cycler and analyzed according to the present invention. The superimposed curves for this data set are shown in FIG. 10. When this data was processed using the cluster approach, the following statistics were obtained:

-   -   standard deviation=0.356     -   mean=35.87     -   coefficient of variation (Cv)=0.99%         This low value of Cv is excellent.

While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of the specific embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements as would be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, throughout the document, the data set is described with reference to a 2D visual graph system. However, it should be appreciated that a data set may be processed and visualized in any n-dimensional space. For example, the data may be visualized or plotted in a 3D system (e.g., with some arbitrary third dimensional coordinate), and then the cluster analysis transforms performed on any set of two or more coordinate values as desired. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements. 

1. A computer-implemented method of determining a specific point of interest in a region of a data curve, the method comprising steps, all steps implemented in a computer system, of: receiving a data set representing a data curve, said data set including a plurality of first data points, each first data point having a pair of coordinate values (x,y), wherein if viewed in a two-dimensional coordinate system the data set has a region of interest; applying a transformation to at least a portion of the data set including the region of interest to produce a transformed data set, wherein the transformed data set includes a plurality of second data points, each second data point having a pair of coordinate values (y′,y*), where the y′ coordinate value of a second data point is the y coordinate value of a corresponding first data point, and the y* coordinate value of said second data point is the y coordinate value of a subsequent first data point; and identifying a plurality of clusters of second data points in the transformed data set; wherein an end point of one of the plurality of clusters represents a specific point of interest in the data curve.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data curve is a curve for a kinetic Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) process, and wherein the specific point of interest represents the elbow or cycle threshold (Ct) value for the kinetic PCR curve.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first pair of coordinate values represent cycle number and an accumulation of amplified polynucleotide.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the accumulation of amplified polynucleotide is represented by one of a fluorescence intensity value, a luminescence intensity value, a chemiluminescence intensity value, a phosphorescence intensity value, a charge transfer value, a bioluminescence intensity value, or an absorbance value.
 5. The method of claim 1, further including, prior to applying the transformation, interpolating additional first data points using at least the first data points in the region of interest.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein interpolating is performed using one of a linear interpolation process, a cubic spline process or a least squares fit process.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein interpolating is performed to produce first data points at an incremental scale of about 1.0 or less per coordinate interval along one of said coordinates.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the incremental scale is about 0.1.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of clusters includes 3 or more clusters.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying clusters includes applying a k-means clustering algorithm to the transformed data set.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein k is greater than or equal to
 3. 12. The method of claim 11, further including determining whether the data set shows a trend or represents substantially noise data.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein determining includes sorting indices of the plurality of clusters in order of increasing indices, wherein if the step of sorting substantially changes the order of the indices, the data set represents substantially noise data.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the plurality of clusters includes only three clusters.
 15. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying one or both of said data set and said transformed data set in a two dimensional coordinate system on a display device.
 16. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the y′ coordinate value of the specific point of interest on a display device.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein the data curve represents a curve for one of a kinetic Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) process, a bacterial process, an enzymatic process or a binding process.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein the data curve is one of a sigmoid type curve or a growth curve.
 19. The method of claim 1, wherein the end point is the last point of the cluster.
 20. The method of claim 1, wherein the subsequent first data point is the next data point in a contiguous series of data points.
 21. The method of claim 1, wherein the subsequent first data point is not the next data point in a contiguous series of data points.
 22. A non-transitory computer readable medium that stores code for controlling a processor to determine a cycle threshold (Ct) value in a kinetic Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) amplification curve, the code including instructions to: receive a data set representing a kinetic PCR amplification curve, said data set including a plurality of first data points, each first data point having a pair of coordinate values (x,y), wherein said data set includes data points in a region of interest which includes the Ct value; apply a transformation to at least the portion of the data set including the region of interest to produce a transformed data set, wherein the transformed data set includes a plurality of second data points, each second data point having a pair of coordinate values (y′,y*), where the y′ coordinate value of a second data point is the y coordinate value of a corresponding first data point, and the y* coordinate value of said second data point is the y coordinate value of a subsequent first data point; and identify a plurality of clusters of second data points in the transformed data set; wherein an end point of one of the plurality of clusters represents the Ct value in the PCR amplification curve.
 23. A kinetic Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) system, comprising: a kinetic PCR analysis module that generates a PCR data set representing a kinetic PCR amplification curve, said PCR data set including a plurality of first data points each having a pair of coordinate values (x,y), wherein said data set includes data points in a region of interest which includes a cycle threshold (Ct) value; and an intelligence module adapted to process the PCR data set to determine the Ct value by: applying a transformation to at least the portion of the PCR data set including the region of interest to produce a transformed data set, wherein the transformed data set includes a plurality of second data points, each second data point having a pair of coordinate values (y′,y*), where the y′ coordinate value of a second data point is the y coordinate value of a corresponding first data point, and the y* coordinate value of said second data point is the y coordinate value of a subsequent first data point; and identifying a plurality of clusters of second data points in the transformed data set; wherein an end point of one of the plurality of clusters represents the Ct value in the PCR amplification curve.
 24. The method of claim 1, wherein the end point is a point proximal the last point of the cluster. 